Mop holder having a screw operated sliding jaw



March 1955 w. E. KAUTENBERG 2,702,915

MOP HOLDER HAVING A SCREW OPERATED SLIDING JAW Filed June 27, 1949 FIG.|

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INVENTOR:

WILLIAM E. KAUTENBERG W w/waif United States Patent MOP HOLDER HAVING ASCREW OPERATED SLIDING JAW William E. Kautenberg, Freeport, Ill.,assignor to W. E. Kautenberg Co., Freeport, 11]., a corporation ofIllinois Application June 27, 1949, Serial No. 101,637

6 Claims. (Cl. 15153) This invention relates in general to mops and ismore particularly described as a strong and sturdy mop structure forcommercial use by janitors, and the like.

rnop stick are all inserted and secured together in cooperatingrelationship.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improved meansfor securing the mop tightening means in place.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple strongand efiicient mop structure which is easily adjusted, not likely to getout of order and lends itself to rapid and economical assembly. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a complete and unitarymop head which may be furnished without the handle mop and also withoutthe mop stick, if desired, adapting it to be economically packaged,stored and shipped.

Other objects will appear in the specification and will be apparent fromthe accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a side view of a mop structure in accordance with thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the split connecting shell,

Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the shell members;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the shell members as taken on the line44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the connected end of the mop attachingmember.

One of the objections to the packaging, storage and shipment of mops isthat the attachment of a mop stick at the factory makes it difficult tocompactly package, store or ship them, and it is nneconomical to ship acomplete mop with a stick attached because they occupy too much space.

The present invention provides a unitary mop head assembly which may bereadily stored and shipped and to which a mop stick may be attachedeither at its destination or by a person to whom it is sold.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the mop comprises asomewhat rectangular bail member having a straight outer portion 11adapted to be seated in a groove 12 of a mop head 14 which extendsbeyond the sides of the straight portion 11 of the bail to providerecesses at the ends thereof for holding the bail and the cross headtogether in non-rotative position. The bail has parallel sides 16 withinwardly inclined portions 18 and parallel extremities 20 terminating inoutwardly bent ends 22.

Extending angularly from the cross head within the sides 16 of the bailare arms 24 joined in a perforated cross piece 26 for receiving thethreaded end of a fastening bar 28. Movable on the threaded portion ofthe bar 28 is a winged fastening nut 30 which engages the cross piece 26to lock the bar in any adjusted position. A mop (not shown) is insertedbetween the straight portion 11 of the bail 10 and the outer recessportion of the cross head and is held in place by moving 2,702,916Patented Mar. 1, 1955 CfI the cross head tightly against the mop,clamping it between the cross piece and the bail.

To connect the adjusting bar 28 and the ends of the bail, a pair ofsimilar shells 32 are placed together to form a central opening 34 atone end into which a mop stick may be inserted, and to which the mopstick may be securely fastenedby means of an opening 36 through each ofthe shell parts. A rivet, nails or screws may be inserted through theopenings 36 into the mop stick, firmly attaching it in place in a wellknown manner. At the sides of the opening 34 of each shell are halfcircular recesses 38 extending from one end of the shell for seating theparallel end portions 20 of the bail 10, and with outwardly curvedextensions 40 adjacent the other end for receiving the bent ends 22 0fthe bails. When the two half shells are placed together, theseextremities of the bail are seated firmly in place so that the bail doesnot tend to turn or twist with respect to the shell.

At the inner end of each shell is an abutment 42 closing this end of theshell but having a rectangular slot 44 centrally thereof to receive oneend of the bar 28 therein. This end of the bar has a flattened portion46 near the end with larger shoulders at the ends of the flattenedportion including a rounded extremity 48 at the end. The flattenedportion 46 is of the proper size to be seated and contained firmly inthe slots 44 of the adjacent shells so that when the two shells areclamped together, the bar 28 will be held by the the engagement of theflattened portion 46 therein against turning and also the end shouldershold it against endwise movement.

To secure the shell parts together, holes 50 are provided in theabutment 42 at opposite sides of the slot 44 and holes 52 are providedat the other end of each shell just beyond the curved portion 40 in theside flanges of each shell. Through the corresponding openings of thetwo shells, screws or rivets 54 are inserted, thereby tightly bindingthe shell portion together, clamping the extremities of the bailtherebetween and at the outer sides of the openings 34 for receiving themop stick therein, and firmly engaging the end of the bar 28 in theslots 44 at the ends of the shell members.

With this construction, the mop cross piece 14 is easily adjusted withrespect to the outer clamping portion of the bail and a mop engagedthereby is firmly held in clamping position by the thumbscrew 30.

The assembly thus formed is complete as a unit and may be furnishedalone or connected to a mop stick. This type of mop is particularlyadapted for storage, shipment and commercial use by janitors and otherworkmen as any desired mop stick may be attached to the mop headdepending upon the use to which it is put. Some operators requiremopsticks longer than others and some prefer mop sticks of difierent sizes.

While a preferred construction has thus been described in some detail,it should be regarded by way of illustration or example rather than arestriction or limitation of the invention since various changes may bemade in the construction, combination and arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A mop holder, comprising a cross head and a bail engageable andmovable relatively to the cross head, the bail having parallel portionsextending adjacently together at their extremities and turned outwardlyat right angles at the ends, an adjusting bar engaging the cross headbetween the sides of the bail and extending toward the adjacentoutwardly turned ends thereof and connecting means for the ends of thebail and the bar, comprising a pair of substantially semi-circularshells movable together to engage over the ends of the bail and the endof the bar, the shells together having a recess for inserting a mopstick therein, and each of the shells having grooves at the oppositesides of and communicating with the opening for the mop stick extendingfrom one end and bent outwardly adjacent the other end to receive theoutwardly turned ends of the bail, the bar having a flattened portionadjacent the 2. A mop holder, comprising a cross head and a bail.

having parallel. sides engaging the ends of the cross head to preventrelative turning, the cross. head having,

arms extending inwardly with a perforated cross piece between the arms,a bar threaded at one end and extending through the perforationof thecross piece and having a flattened portion near its other end withlarger shoulders at the ends of the flattened portion, the extremitiesof the bail having parallel portions bent outwardly at their ends, apair of similar substantially semicircular shells placed oppositelytogether to form a re cess for receiving a mop stick therein -and toform communicating recesses at the sides of the mop stick openingextending from one end of the shell to receive the said parallelportions of the bail and having outwardly bent'portions to receive theoutwardly bent ends of the bail, and each of the shells having anabutment at its inner end with a rectangular slot therein to jointlyreceive the flattened end of'the bar between said shoulders andfastening means extending through the shells for securing them firmlytogether holding the extremities of the bail in place and holding theadjusting bar in the shells against rotation and the shoulders limitingendwise movement.

3. In a mop, the combination with a bail having adjacent parallelextremities with the ends turned outwardly, of a cross head for engagingthe bail having an inward attaching portion, a bar having a threaded endextending through the attaching portion of. the cross head and anangular portion adjacent the other end, larger shoulders at the ends ofthe angular portion, mop clamping means comprising a nut movable on thethreaded end of the bar against the cross head, an attaching holder forthe bar and the ends of the bail comprising a pair of similar shellsplaced oppositely together and forming a circular opening for receivinga mop stick, means forming a pair of circular grooves at the oppositesides of the mop stick opening extending from the inner end of theshells and bent outwardly at the sides adjacent the other end of theshells, and the shells each having an inner abutment with an angularslot therein for together receiving theangular portion of the baradjacent the end and between said shoulders to prevent the bar fromturning and moving longitudinally in the shells, and the shells beingformed with perforations through the abutments and through the outerends adjacent the outwardly turned ends, and fastening means insertablethrough thecorrespondingopenings for tightly binding the shellstogether.

4. In a mop, a bail and a cross head having interengaging portions forpreventing relative rotation, a bar having a threaded end extendingthroughthe-cross head,

a lock nut on the threaded portion of the bar engaging the cross head, aflattened portion with larger end shoulders adjacent the other end ofthe bar, the bail having adjacent parallel extremities turnedoutwardlyat right angles, and common engaging means for the flattened end of thebar and the adjacent ends of the bail comprising a pair of similarshells secured together and having recesses and adjoining groovestherein for seating the end'of a mop stick therein and the outwardlyturned and parallel ends of the bail at the sides of the mop stick andat the ends of the shells and for engaging the flattened portion ofthebar. between said shoulders adjacent the extremity. of the. bar.

5. In a mop, a bail and a cross piece movable relatively to each otherfor engaging mopping material therebetween, clamping means-for engagingthe ends of the bail comprising similar half shells providing also asocket for receiving one end of a mop stick therein, an adjusting andclamping bar between the bail and the cross piece having a threadedextremity movable through the cross piece, a lock nut movable, on theythreaded extremity against the cross head, the bar having a flattenedportion with larger, end shoulders adjacent the other end and the shellmeans for the bail ends having a joint angular slot therein for engagingthe flattened portion of the bar adjacent the end thereof and betweensaid shoulderstto prevent the bar from rotating and from movinglongitudinally in adjusting the bail relative to the cross piece.

6. In a mop, a bail and, a cross piece adjustable relatively with eachother to grip mopping material therebetween, an adjusting barv having athreaded end extending through the cross piece, an adjusting nut on thethreaded end of the bar movable to engage the cross piece, the barhaving a fiattenedportionwith end shoulders adjacent the other endthereof, and common connecting means fortheendsof thebail, for thebarand for receiving. the end. of a mop stick, said means comprising a pairof similar substantially semi-cylindrical shells placed oppositelytogether to form a recess for the end of a mop stick, the sh'ells havinggrooves at the sides of the recess for seating the ends of the bail atthe sides of the mop stick recess and an abutment at the inner ends ofeach shell having an angular slot therein for jointly seating theflattened portion of the bar between said shoulders, and means forrigidly attaching the shells together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED-STATES PATENTS1,475,479 Feth Nov. 27, 1923 1,619,624 Maszczyk Mar. 1, 1927 1,968,622Smith July 31, 1934- 2,014,109 Lawlor Sept. 10, 1935 2,042,803 PleissJune 2, 1936 2,081,631 Maeda May 25, 1937 2,103,565 Tarbox Dec. 28, 19372,425,763 Teigen Aug. 19, 1947

